Chapter 280: Alia Has Finally Found Her Perfect Partner!

The thought surfaced before he could suppress it.

And once it appeared, his mind began running wild.

After all, this wasn’t something unheard of within the Beast Empire.

There had been many cases where siblings had devoured one another’s power simply to strengthen themselves.

Even the Kings and Emperors didn’t interfere.

That was because the Beast Empire also followed this principle—

The strongest survived.

As long as someone possessed the strength to take another’s power, they had the right to do so.

Of course, such things couldn’t be done openly.

If discovered, the offender would be banished from the Beast Empire.

Soon.

Ivar’s eyes gradually filled with lust.

His imagination began painting an image of Alia naked body lying in his bed.

The thought made his sinister smile deepen.

"Ivar, are you okay?"

Nolan’s voice suddenly came from his left.

The unexpected question snapped Ivar out of his increasingly frantic thoughts.

His expression froze for a brief moment.

Then he took a slow, deep breath.

He forcibly pushed those urges back down, restoring his usual calm expression before turning toward Nolan.

"I am fine."

His voice sounded completely normal.

But Nolan wasn’t convinced. Something felt wrong.

Kira seemed to sense it as well.

The two exchanged a brief glance but chose not to question him.

Instead, they simply nodded.

"We’ll leave first."

Both of them rose from their seats and left the room, intending to prepare a few more things before the upcoming exploration.

Ivar watched them leave without saying anything.

His expression remained calm.

But beneath that calm exterior—

His earlier thoughts still lingered.

A few moments later, Ivar also rose from his seat and decided to leave.

The Elves and the Marinthians had already departed.

Still, before walking away, he turned his head one final time.

His gaze settled on Alia.

Then, without saying a word, he turned around and left the room completely.

The moment Ivar crossed the gate and disappeared from sight, the smile Alia had maintained the entire time vanished.

Her expression instantly became serious.

Luke, however, didn’t notice the change.

He was still focused on calming down Selene, who hadn’t completely gotten over what had happened earlier.

’I have to hurry.’ Alia’s thoughts were filled with worry.

She knew very well what Ivar had been doing.

He had already taken the same type of ability from several women and incorporated them into his own power, using them to continuously strengthen himself.

Yet Alia had never done anything like that.

Not even once.

Since, she didn’t want to sacrifice her chastity to some random person merely for the sake of increasing her strength.

That was precisely why she had been searching for someone suitable.

Someone strong enough to withstand her.

Someone talented enough to recover quickly.

If she found such a person, she could form a Dual Cultivation relationship with him and steadily increase her own strength.

And while he recovered, she could protect him.

That was the plan she had always intended to follow.

But now—

Alia’s gaze quietly shifted toward Luke.

The moment she saw him, a thought surfaced in her mind.

’He’s perfect.’

After all, heroes weren’t something that grew on trees.

And the Hero of their Beast Empire was someone who openly chose to take female cultivation and even their abilities.

That was precisely why Alia couldn’t afford to get anywhere near him.

She had to protect her chastity from too many people—her own royal family, the Emperor’s royal family, and even the Hero of their own empire.

After all, her first time would bring the maximum benefits from her partner.

Thinking about this, Alia let out a quiet sigh before also deciding to leave the room.

She still had a few things to prepare if she truly wanted to get close to Luke.

Luke noticed Alia leaving—

"What are you looking at?"

Before he could even finish turning his head, Selene suddenly cupped his face with both hands and forcefully turned it back toward her.

"Only look at me." Her crimson eyes stared directly into his blue ones.

Luke blinked.

Then, slowly nodded, silently pleading for her to let go of his face.

"Good boy." Seeing him obediently nod, Selene gave his head a small pat.

Pat, pat.

The gesture immediately drew strange looks from Zeyr and Karon, who were now the only other people remaining in the meeting room.

Luke noticed their gazes.

His mouth twitched.

’She’s treating me exactly like she did when we first met.’

Back then, he had merely been a mortal who had just arrived in this world and knew absolutely nothing about it.

And now, after everything that had happened, she was still treating him like that helpless newcomer.

Luke could only sigh inwardly.

"Let’s go."

Taking advantage of the moment, he grabbed Selene’s hand and quickly pulled her toward the exit.

He left the room with her before the situation could become any more embarrassing.

Zeyr and Karon watched the two leave.

For a moment, they remained silent.

Then they exchanged amused glances.

Without saying anything, they also stood up and followed after them.

---

Three hours later, everyone gathered inside a secret room within the royal palace.

This was the room that contained the pathway leading directly to the ruins.

"I hope all of you are ready," Roderan said as he looked around at everyone.

One by one, they nodded.

Twelve representatives from the Empyrean Academy had gathered.

Alongside them were twelve members from Horizon Academy, including Estelle and Isaria.

The Eldric Royal Palace had also prepared a hundred Early B-Rank beings.

Ten were mages.

The remaining ninety were Platinum Knights.

These weren’t ordinary guards, either.

They were the same people who had entered the ruins before—and, despite the dangers within, had managed to survive and return.

Counting everyone, there were currently 125 people gathered in the secret room, Luke included.

Roderan’s expression soon became somewhat helpless.

"Unfortunately, no one above the Early B-Rank realm can enter these ruins."

A sigh escaped his lips.

He had wanted to explore this ancient place himself more than anyone.

But as an A-Rank being, he couldn’t even step inside.

The restriction was absolute.

Hearing this, nobody else showed the slightest surprise.

They had already known about this limitation beforehand.

Only Luke raised his brows once again.

Then, without wasting any more time, Roderan waved his hand.

His movement was so fast that none of them could even see it properly.

They only knew that he had done something.

The next moment—

Crack!

The space in mid-air split apart, revealing another space on the other side.

Beyond it was a massive chamber.

And standing within that chamber was an ancient gate, towering thousands of feet.

Roderan barely spared it a glance.

Instead, he stepped forward and raised both hands.

In the next instant, they became covered in red essence.

But unlike the flowing essence Luke had seen from B-Rank beings, this essence didn’t flow around his palm.

It was solid.

It completely covered his hands like a pair of solid essence gauntlets.

Then Roderan tightened his grip.

Without using any special technique, he relied solely on the strength of his body and grabbed the edges of the spatial cut.

RIIIP!

He forcefully tore the narrow, single-line opening apart.

The spatial cut widened rapidly, transforming into a broad passage large enough for everyone to enter.

WHOOSH!

A few violent shockwaves erupted from the spatial passage.

Few B-Rank beings from Horizon academy were caught off guard and were pushed backward.

Fortunately, Selene immediately shielded Luke from the incoming force.

Otherwise, without activating his Titan form, Luke would have been sent crashing into the wall.

Once the shockwaves finally settled, Luke looked toward the passage ahead and then to Roderan.

’Damn, so cool.’

After all, normally, only Space users—or mages who possessed sufficient knowledge of Space magic—could open a spatial passage.

But that rule didn’t apply to A-Rank beings and those above them.

They could use their raw essence or raw physical power to directly tear apart space itself.

"This passage won’t remain open for long, so enter now."

Roderan’s voice immediately brought everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.

The spatial passage was already beginning to tremble slightly as the surrounding space attempted to repair itself.

Everyone nodded.

The hundred B-Rank beings entered first.

After them, the members of Horizon Academy followed one after another.

Then came the representatives from the Empyrean Academy.

Finally, Luke and Selene stepped through the passage together.

Roderan and Drevian remained behind, watching their departing figures.

Neither of them looked relaxed.

There was clear worry in their eyes.

This time, too many important figures had entered the ruins.

If even one of them died inside—

The consequences would be catastrophic for their kingdom.

"I hope everyone will be alright." Roderan’s voice carried a trace of concern.

The very next moment, the spatial passage completely closed.

Crack.

The rift disappeared without a trace, completely concealing whatever secrets were hidden beyond it.